Coronavirus: Air New Zealand expected to make a half year loss and suspend dividend, analyst says

Air NZ is expected to make a loss in H2 2020 due to the impact of coronavirus on the business, stock broker Forsyth Barr says. On Monday Air New Zealand withdrew earlier earnings guidance it had provided the market due to increased uncertainty surrounding the duration and scale of the Covid-19 outbreak. Air NZ has already reduced its total network capacity by 10% and suspended services from Auckland to Shanghai and South Korea and reduced services between Auckland and Samoa, Hong Kong, Fiji, Rarotonga, Singapore, Taipei, Tokyo and Tonga. Forsyth Barr aviation analyst Andy Bowley said it expected Air NZ to incur a loss in the second half of the 2020 financial year, which ends on June 30. In the six months to December 2019 the airline made $198m before tax. Bowley said he also expected Air NZ to cancel its dividend for H2 of the 2020 financial year. "With both ranges removed within just two weeks of being issued, it is apparent that Air New Zealand is suffering from a severe downturn in forward bookings and an elevated level of cancellations," he said.<br/>